The four jets, either the Mirage 2000 or the Rafale, will be sent
to Malbrok in eastern Poland on April 28 on a double mission to
train the Polish air force and to be on standby for air patrols
over the Baltic States under NATO command.

“They will participate in the air policing mission over the
Baltic states from Poland,” the general told reporters
Wednesday.

But he added that French political leaders had not ordered
further steps to support alliance members.

“For the moment, the guidance is very clear, we do not go
beyond that,” he said.

The United States announced Tuesday it is deploying 600 airborne
troops on exercises in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as a
show of solidarity with NATO members that border Russia and have
been worried by the escalation of tensions between Russia and
Ukraine.

The Baltic States gained independence from the USSR in 1991 and
joined NATO in 2004 but lack sufficient aircraft to police their
own skies, so larger NATO members take turns in patrolling for
them.

A contingent of 150 American troops arrived in the polish town of
Swindwin on Thursday and will be joined by a further 450. The
soldiers will participate in military exercises in Lithuania,
Latvia and Estonia over the next few months.

Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, has said that NATO
exercises will do nothing to help solve the crisis in Ukraine.

“War games by NATO in Poland and the Baltic states are also
not helping the normalization of the situation. We are forced to
react to the situation,” he said during an official meeting
in Moscow.

In response Russia has started military drills near the Ukrainian
border, as the situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate.